Ali Mehrizi-Sani joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the complexities of the power grid, its vulnerabilities, and how renewable energy and microgrids fit into the future of energy reliability. 00:00 — What’s the biggest threat to our power grid?01:22 — What does the power grid include?02:42 — How is North America’s power grid connected?05:04 — What causes blackouts, and how is the grid kept reliable?06:51 — Why is the power grid under more pressure today?09:33 — How do data centers affect the power grid?14:44 — What actually causes power outages?16:21 — What role do solar and wind play in the grid?18:38 — What are microgrids, and when are they useful?21:18 — How can the power grid be protected from cyberattacks?23:26 — What can everyday people do to support the grid?Mehrizi-Sani is a professor and Bradley Senior Fellow in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is also the director of the Power and Energy Center at Virginia Tech. His latest research focuses on the intersection of power engineering and advanced wireless communications to help shape a resilient, reliable grid of the future.

Luis E. Escobar joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the New World screwworm, a fly whose larvae can infest living animals and humans, causing severe wounds. He shared the pest’s biology, its past eradication in the United States, and current research into its spread and potential changes.

Escobar is an associate professor in the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech. He is a member of the Pandemic Prediction and Prevention Destination Area, the Invasive Species Collaborative, and the Fralin Life Sciences Institute’s Center for Zoonotic and Arthropod- borne Pathogens and Global Change Center.  His research focuses on biogeography, ecology, and evolution of infectious diseases across landscapes.

Wujin Sun joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about a device he’s working on that will automatically detect opioid overdoses and administer life-saving medication. He explained how the device works, the motivations behind it, and the need for an intervention that doesn’t require a bystander’s assistance.

00:00 — A Patch That Could Reverse Overdoses

01:10 — Introducing the iNAL Patch

02:17 — How the Patch Detects Fentanyl and Releases Naloxone

03:17 — Why Overdose Prevention Needs to Work Without a Bystander

04:34 — Protecting Patients Who Need Opioid Pain Relief

05:44 — The Origin of the Research

07:26 — Engineering the Sensor and Drug-Release System

08:33 — How the Patch Controls Naloxone Delivery

10:17 — Testing, Regulation, and the Road to Human Use

11:22 — What a Human-Scale Patch Could Look Like

12:28 — The Vision for Broad Public Access

13:03 — Turning a Lab Innovation Into a Life-Saving Tool

Sun is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. His research interests include cell and biomaterial engineering, drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, and precision medicine.